Strawberry and the Seven Espada
by Frosted Nightmare
Summary: After nearly getting killed by his stepmother, Prince Ichigo finds a house occupied by seven peculiar strangers. Could they be the key to freeing himself from his stepmother's curse and saving his kingdom? Grimmjow x Ichigo
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is based off of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, so there may be similarities to the plot, but it is not going to completely follow the storyline.

 **Warning for the entire story** : Bad language, Abuse, Violence, Male x Male, Ooc-ness

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Chapter 1

The Kingdom of Karakura used to be brimming with life and happiness. The land was rich and the people content. The King Isshin and Queen Masaki were adored for their kindness and peaceful ways, but like many things it was too good to last. On one fateful day, the Queen had fallen gravely ill and died leaving her husband and two young sons behind to pick up the pieces.

The next few years were hard for the kingdom. The land seemed to slowly take on the King's grief. The skies turned gloomy with dark clouds that threatened to burst at any moment and drown the citizens below it. The once bright and exotic looking plants now looked duller, and fewer and fewer animals could be found. The kingdom seemed to only be getting worse as days passed on.

All hope seemed lost as the kingdom suffered until the day came that the King found a new Queen. The new Queen couldn't replace the gentle, kindness of the deceased Queen, but she calmed the King's sorrow and took care of the kingdom in his stead. The two princes, Shirosaki and Ichigo, adored their new mother, and the family almost seemed whole again.

A full year went by before tragedy struck the royal family once again. The younger prince was kidnapped and killed in the dark of the night. The sudden loss was so devastating; the King locked himself in his chambers and refused to come out. Only a few servants and the Queen were said to able to catch a glimpse of him in the years to come. The older prince became enraged and cold to those around him. Not only had he lost his mother, he had lost his twin. His other half. Some people would claim that he had gone a bit mad with loss.

Through all of the sorrow and loss, the Queen continued her rule with the prince by her side. Her courage was known throughout the land. She confronted her loss head on in order to help the kingdom she had grown to love.

xXx(What? A line break already?)xXx

Mugetsu closed the book harshly and rubbed his neck. He couldn't say what was written in this new history book was a complete lie, but it certainly wasn't all true. Mugetsu leaned back in his chair. He should know.

Mugetsu carefully placed the book back in its place amongst the vast expanse of the castle's library. He grabbed his discarded rag and bucket and crouched back into his previous position in order to continue scrubbing the floor.

Before he could put the rag in the soapy bucket, a shrill voice pierced his ears. " _MUGETSU!_ "

Mugetsu jumped up from the floor and swirled around, knocking the soapy bucket over, and came face to face with the Queen's attendant. Her narrowed eyes made him swallow nervously.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" She hissed leaning towards his face. Mugetsu couldn't help the twinge of fear that shot through his spine. He had been caught.

"I-I was just-" Mugetsu stuttered. He knew he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing. The Queen had given him the job of cleaning every inch of the library, and he had been doing exactly that until he came upon the new edition of Karakura Kingdom's history. Mugetsu was only interested in what the more recent 'history' about the kingdom was. Though, he really regretted picking up the book now. He eyed the attendant nervously. He was screwed if this was reported to the Queen.

"Snooping?"

Mugetsu lowered his head. "I apologize." The attendant scoffed and leaned toward Mugetsu's ear.

"You better watch yourself. We wouldn't want to inform the Queen of your…" She eyed Mugetsu up and down, "treachery, now would we?" Mugetsu shuddered.

"No, madam."

The attendant backed away. "The Queen has summoned you. Best be on your way. Who knows? Maybe she already knows about how much you are slacking off and reading instead of your chores?" She hummed.

Mugetsu paled and practically ran out of the library. He tried not to trip over himself as he scurried through the long hallways and sharp turns.

Mugetsu hurried through the large doors to the throne room where the Queen of Karakura awaited him with a disdainful look. Mugetsu bowed low. His long midnight black hair falling over his shoulders. The Queen gracefully stood up from her throne and began to walk towards him. Mugetsu tried not to shake and nearly flinched when cold hands lifted his face. Mugetsu slowly lifted his eyes to meet the Queen's, but immediately regretted it when he saw the cold smile plastered onto her face. The Queen slid her hands higher and began to caress the terrifying mask that was permanently fused to his face.

Honestly, he could barely remember what his face had looked like without his mask. It had been years since the Queen had cursed him with it. He did remember that his hair was not always black and his eyes not always gold sitting on black.

"Mugetsu."

Mugetsu snapped out of his daze and looked back at the Queen's face. She sneered and released his face just long enough to smash the back of her hand against his temple. Mugetsu nearly lost his footing at the force. His eyes swam from the blow.

"You impudent little worm. Show some respect for your Queen. We wouldn't want to add another stripe to your mask, now would we, _Mugetsu_." She said with a hiss. Mugetsu trembled uncontrollably at the threat.

"N-no, your majesty." He stuttered. Each stripe was excruciatingly painful when newly formed. Being stabbed with a hot iron did not even compare, and he remembered each and every painful moment of each of the nine stripes he had been given in the last ten years.

The Queen released his face, but Mugetsu did not dare move.

"What are your duties here, Mugetsu?" She eyed his frozen form. Mugetsu licked his lips and recited the words that were drilled into him since he was eight.

"To serve and protect her majesty and the prince until her majesty sees fit to bless this wretched being with a befitting death."

"Then, tell me." She paused with an evil glint in her eye. "Why did you not follow my direct order?"

Mugetsu paled considerably behind his mask. "Your majesty?" He asked hoping, praying that she was not talking about his exploration of the library's new works.

"I do remember specifically ordering you to attend to the prince this morning due to the preparations of the important event that we will be having, and yet, the prince is still in bed while you do chores that should have been finished over an hour ago."

"M-my deepest apologies, your highness." He said weakly while bowing impossibly lower than before. "I overslept this morning. It won't happen again."

Hysterical laughter erupted in the room. "You overslept? Overslept?! I have been kind enough to let you live each day with food and a roof over your head, and you have the audacity to sleep in on the day of a most important party?" The Queen abruptly became quiet. The air in the room seemed to drop in temperature. Mugetsu's body tensed as he waited for the excruciating pain to come.

The sound of knocking on the large doors broke the silence.

"What?" The Queen barked out. She gave Mugetsu a dark look as if it was his fault.

"Excuse me, your highness. One of the guests for tonight's party has arrived early." Came a voice muffled by the thick doors. Mugetsu barely relaxes but is inwardly hopeful that it is important enough for the Queen to dismiss him. For the moment at least.

The Queen growled. "Mugetsu, get back to your duties. We will finish this later. Now, get out of my sight."

Mugetsu ignored the stiffness from the awkward position he held for so long, and hurried out of the room. He bit at his lip worriedly. His punishment was not prevented, but prolonged. Now, the Queen would be stewing in anger for the remainder of the day. It could only get worse from there.

XxAnother BreakxX

Mugetsu carefully approached the sleeping lump that was cocooned in the giant elegant bed that graced the Prince's chamber. This was the task he dreaded more than any other for multiple reasons. The main reason being how unpredictable the Prince was. The Queen was harsh in her punishments, but Mugetsu was familiar in what to expect and could, at the very least, brace himself. The Prince was much more creative in ways of punishment. Mugetsu _never_ knew what to expect. The only thing he knew was that hewould be punished for _something_.

Mugetsu took a shaky breath. "Your highness, it is morning."

The lump growled and turned away from Mugetsu. This was exactly a situation that Mugetsu wanted to avoid. The Prince was not a morning person, and Mugetsu, or more accurately Mugetsu, of all people waking him was not going to end well.

Mugetsu walked over the massive windows and threw open the curtains. The Prince hissed as sunlight streamed into the room. Golden eyes surrounded by black glowered at Mugetsu.

"You better have a really good reason for this, Mugetsu, or I swear you will regret disrupting my sleep." The Prince growled darkly.

"Prince Shirosaki, her majesty wishes you to be awake early in order to welcome the guests who will be arriving today for tonight's party."

Shiro huffed angrily and threw the blankets off. He marched past Mugetsu, who flinched when Shiro bumped his shoulder harshly, towards the bathing room connected to his chamber. Mugetsu sighed with relief when he heard the click of the door closing and began making Shiro's bed.

Shiro had hated Mugetsu since he first laid eyes on him. It was one year after Prince Ichigo's death, and the Queen had brought Mugetsu to the castle, after placing the mask upon him, to be trained as a servant and personal slave. As soon as he was dubbed "fully trained", Mugetsu was introduced to Shiro as his personal servant. Shiro had not taken this well. Mugetsu was the same age as him and Shiro hated Mugetsu for no other reason but the grief he felt every time he looked at the kid who was going to be by his side constantly instead of Ichigo. It seemed that since their first meeting, Shiro has made it his goal to torture Mugetsu every chance he gets.

Mugetsu looked up as he heard a door being opened, but quickly looked anywhere except at Shiro who had returned from his bath. Shiro, oblivious to his own nudity, walked, more like strutted, to his wardrobe. This was a habit that the Prince took up once he realized how much it bothered Mugetsu.

"Oi!" Shiro snapped. Mugetsu kept his head bowed slightly as he faced the Prince.

Shiro sneered and marched up to Mugetsu, taking his chin and forcing his head up to meet his eyes. Shiro gazed into the familiar eyes. Before meeting Mugetsu, Shiro had never met nor heard of another person who had golden eyes swimming in black. In fact, even after meeting Mugetsu, there was no other person who had their eyes. It often made him ponder why it was only they had eyes like this.

Mugetsu was sweating at this point. Shiro became like this once in a while, staring calculatingly into his eyes. Shiro usually became aggressive after he shook off whatever was bothering him.

"Mugetsu, why do you have eyes like mine when no one else does?" Shiro asked with a distant look in his eyes. "Are you really as hideous beneath this mask as stepmother claims?"

"I don't know, Prince Shirosaki. I have always had this mask as my guardian put it on me when I was very young." Mugetsu partially lied as he always did when asked these questions by Shiro. Shiro's eyes narrowed as he sensed the lie. Mugetsu tensed in response and did not have enough time to react before he was punched in his gut. He immediately doubled over in pain as he gasped for air.

"Tch. You should know better by now, Mugetsu." Shiro spat his name in disgust and began to get dressed. Mugetsu stood up as best he could without causing himself more pain. He tried to straighten up nearly completely. He managed to only hunch over slightly by the time Shiro was finished getting dressed.

Shiro gave Mugetsu a sharp look before leaving. Mugetsu followed closely. It was going to be a long day.

xXx(Breaking of the line)xXx

Mugetsu had followed Shiro throughout the day as Shiro performed his daily duties. It was uneventful overall. Shiro had taken to ignoring Mugetsu. Though, Mugetsu couldn't say that he hated it completely. He had managed to avoid getting into too much trouble. The Queen had not called for him again and, by the abundant amount of servants running around through the halls, it was clear that the Queen was much too busy preparing for the party, much to Mugetsu's relief. The guests were arriving left and right and the whole castle was busy. All he had to focus on now was ensuring that the Prince and he were ready for the party.

Mugetsu bowed and backed away from the Prince's chamber as the Prince began dressing in his finest clothing. Once the doors closed, he turned around and rushed to his own room. The Queen had so kindly put him on the opposite end of the castle. Mugetsu had to hurry to get in his own attire before the party started. He ran through the all too familiar halls, walking briskly when he saw people around. The last thing he needed was to get the Queen mad at him for showing improper behavior in front of her guests or even personal servants who would gladly report him.

Mugetsu panted slightly by the time he reached his room. It wasn't much with a small cot, an old dresser, a mirror, and a small window. The condition didn't bother Mugetsu much. He was rarely in his room to begin with because of his chores and duties to the Prince and Queen. Mugetsu approached his dresser and noted the expensive butler uniform that had been placed haphazardly on it. The servants who delivered it obviously knew exactly who would be blamed if the uniform was harmed in any way. Mugetsu gingerly picked up the uniform to inspect it of small tears or dirt. He was relieved to find none before quickly changing into it. He would have to be careful throughout the night not to dirty it. Mugetsu slipped his hair out of the back of the shirt and jacket before pulling on the gloves. He eyed the white gloves with disgust. He had gotten into trouble on more than one occasion because white gloves.

Mugetsu huffed and rushed out of the room back towards the Prince's chamber. He was so focused on getting to the room quickly, he ran into a hard body. Mugetsu stumbled back, one hand on his nose that had been crushed on impact, and looked up at whom he had run into. He immediately regretted not looking where he was going as his collar was grabbed and pulled towards a very angry Prince.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" Shiro snarled, leaning so close to Mugetsu's face that their noses nearly touched.

"I-I was just trying to-"

"Get into more trouble?" Shiro cut him off. "You have lived here for ten years. Ten long years under the same roof with the same rules. How is it that you are too stupid to follow them? Maybe I oughta drill those rules into you, since clearly the usual punishments aren't working." Shiro clenched the fist that was not holding Mugetsu in place. Mugetsu closed his eyes, accepting whatever the Prince had in mind. He had really been careless.

Shiro's eyes narrowed and unclenched his fist. "No….That wouldn't work would it? I suppose I will have to discuss with the Queen a punishment that will knock sense into ya."

Mugetsu's eyes snapped open as he stared at the Prince in pure horror. His body began to shake as past memories of the Queen adding the excruciatingly painful stripes to his mask. Shiro watched as fear engulfed Mugetsu's being and dropped him unceremoniously to the floor, his lip turned up with disgust.

"Pitiful."

Mugetsu watched as the Prince stalked off without a second glance towards his cowering form on the floor. Mugetsu tried to slow the trembling throughout his body and tilted his head down in shame.

"Your right." Mugetsu whispered. He clumsily stood up and followed after the Prince towards the ballroom.

xXx(Ugh another line break)xXx

The Queen rose gracefully from her seat and the ballroom went silent as they acknowledged their ruler. "Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my pleasure to welcome you all tonight on behalf of my son who is turning a glorious eighteen years of life." Clapping ensued in response. "It has been a difficult journey, but I know that we will overcome this trying time. I will personally see to it that this country prospers and grows." Many of the guests cheered. "Now, let us enjoy ourselves and welcome the birthday boy himself!"

Applause roared across the ballroom as the Prince made his entrance. Shiro was immediately bombarded by women and men alike who wished to congratulate him. The Queen looked fondly at her son as he greeted his guests. Many powerful people had come to her kingdom for this special occasion. The Queen sat back on her throne and took a sip of wine. A small barely noticeable smirk played on her lips.

Mugetsu, who had followed the Prince into the room a minute or so after the Prince himself, placed himself in the shadows, hoping to go unnoticed. He made sure he had a good view of the Prince and kept alert for signs of danger. On top of being a servant, Mugetsu was also a kind of personal bodyguard. The Prince could very well take care of himself. However, the Queen wanted extra measures in case any unforeseen dangers emerged. Mugetsu knew that he was not just trained to fight for the Prince in battle. He was expected to die in the Prince's place if an assassin or something of the like attacked.

A hand on Mugetsu's shoulder caused him to tense and jump away quickly with a slight growl. The figure who had touched him raised his hands in surrender and looked towards his partner. Mugetsu took that moment to take in the strangers' strange clothes. The man wore a striped green and white hat that hid some of his features and strange sandals that did not match his elegant green suit that he had worn for the party. The woman was dark skinned with exotic purple hair. She wore a vibrant orange and black kimono. By the way both of these strangers held themselves; Mugetsu could tell that they would be formidable opponents in a battle.

While Mugetsu was staring at the strange features, he had missed the strangers doing the same to him.

"How odd." The woman said, reaching a hand out towards Mugetsu's mask. Mugetsu flinched away from the outstretched hand on instinct. "I have never seen a mask such as this one. Have you, Kisuke?" She asked, turning towards the man now known as Kisuke.

"Hnnn." Kisuke hummed, eyeing the mask and each individual stripe. "Can't say that I have, Yoruichi. It is quite terrifying, isn't it?" He said with a amused look in his eye.

"You should have seen him before we gave him the mask."

Kisuke and Yoruichi turned around to find the Queen herself standing behind them with a smile.

"Whatever do you mean, your highness?" Kisuke asked.

"Oh. You wouldn't believe how horrifying his true face is. This mask looks like an angel in comparison. It is so terrible, I had to forbid Mugetsu from ever taking the mask off for fear of giving my subjects heart attacks every time they so much as glanced upon his face." Kisuke and Yoruichi gave each other a look that was missed by the Queen who was looking down on Mugetsu. Mugetsu was shrinking in on himself under the Queen's cruel gaze.

Excited whispering began to fill the room as attention was drawn towards the Queen and her masked servant.

"What a terrifying mask! And his face is worse?"

"How scary!"

"Oh my! Did you see his eyes?"

"How dare he have the same eyes as the Prince."

"Our Queen is surely noble for taking in such a horrible creature."

"I don't know how she does it."

"I wouldn't let that thing anywhere near me much less keep it in my own home."

The whispering became louder and louder until the Queen moved away from Mugetsu and drawing everyone's attention towards her. "Now, come. We are not here to gawk at my unpleasant servant. This is a party, is it not?"

The guests pointedly turned away from Mugetsu and began once again giving the Prince and Queen their undivided attention, chatting away about marriage and the kingdom's future. Kisuke and Yoruichi gave Mugetsu a sad look before moving away to join the others. Mugetsu missed their look as he stared pointedly at the ground.

It was a couple hours before Mugetsu moved from his spot in the shadows due to an idle threat from a servant. Mugetsu grabbed a couple trays from the servant and began walking around slowly. The guests just treated him as if he was a piece of common furniture. A few people came and went, grabbing drinks when they were tired from dancing completely ignoring him. Many steered clear of him out of fear.

Kisuke and Yoruichi did not approach him again. Though, he had seen them whispering to each other and glancing at him once in a while. Mugetsu shrugged it off though, knowing that the mask was the center of everyone's focus tonight when they looked at him.

Mugetsu made his way towards the balcony. There were surprisingly few people there, but he did not want to get in trouble for neglecting that area. As soon as he walked outside, he felt a wonderful breeze blow through his long hair and on his skin. It felt wonderfully cool in comparison to the stuffy heated ballroom. He stood on the balcony for a minute, waiting for any of the guests on the balcony to approach his tray for a drink. After a couple minutes, his eyes strayed towards the scene from the balcony. It was dark. Millions of stars could be seen over the town that surrounded the castle. Beyond the town was a vast expanse of forests and fields. Honestly, it looked like freedom.

"Excuse me." A voice jolted Mugetsu from his daze as he turned his attention to the guest.

"Yes, sir?" he said as he looked at the man with wavy brown hair and a kind smile. His clothes were overly elegant which told Mugetsu that he was probably royalty.

"I don't mean to be rude, but why have we not seen you at any of the other parties?" Mugetsu blinked in surprise. "Are you new?"

"No, sir. I was not allowed to be a part of the events due to my Queen's wishes."

"Ah, yes. You are rather young." The man smiled before walking away. Mugetsu's eyebrows furrowed, unnoticeably due to the mask. How could this man tell how old he was? His face was hidden and his voice was warped from the mask's magic. What a strange man.

From across the room, cold eyes were glaring at the confused Mugetsu.

xXx(You will never guess what this is. Yep. Line Break)xXx

The party had finished slowly as guests retired for the night. Even the Prince ended up excusing himself to get some rest with Mugetsu following the Prince out of the room. The Queen was the last to leave with a forced smile on her face as she bid the last of her guests farewell. As soon as the guests were out of sight, she marched straight to her chambers and locked the doors behind her. A furious look on her face. She paced back and forth for half an hour before turning towards her mirror.

"Magic mirror on the wall. Show me who rules over all." The Queen raised her hands as a green misty light emerged from her fingertips and swirled around the mirror. Her image blurred and changed shape as it turned into the person she desperately wished to communicate with.

"I cannot do it anymore! Mugetsu is disobedient at every turn and has become more of a hindrance every day. Shirosaki is becoming more and more agitated. If this goes on Shirosaki will not be able to complete his normal duties. He will become useless. I apologize, but I must be rid of him!" The Queen exclaimed in fury towards the calm figure in the mirror.

"Are you sure this is just about Shirosaki?" The figure asked.

The Queen snarled. "Of course not. _Ichigo_ is more and more like his mother every day, and I can't stand it. If this goes on, it will not bode well for me or my kingdom. I will have to kill him before he ruins everything, just like his mother."

"You have him under your spell." The mirror's figure reasoned.

"That is not enough! My patience has grown thin and I do not want him around anymore. I only kept him alive because you insisted, but he is constantly testing me. Despite the pain of each stripe, he refuses to be completely obedient. Eventually, he will earn all of his stripes, but, once the last stripe is added to his mask, he will die and so will the spell. It is a great risk that may end with everyone knowing that Mugetsu was really Prince Ichigo. This will lead to my exposure and I cannot have that. It is better to be rid of him sooner rather than later." There was a long pause.

"If you are certain that there is no other way, send for Kenpachi to dispose of Ichigo, tomorrow." The figure sighed.

The Queen grinned.

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Author's Note: Holy crap this was long. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated, but please don't be too harsh. :'D *collapses*


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning for the entire story** : I apologize in advance….Bad language, Abuse, Violence, Blood, Pain, Male x Male, Ooc-ness

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Chapter 2

Mugetsu woke up early the following morning, despite the late time he had retired for the night. He didn't want to risk extra punishment. He sincerely doubted that the Queen had forgotten her promise of punishing him from yesterday. More than that, Mugetsu feared that Prince Shiro would ask the Queen to punish him on his behalf as well. That would be a first which would make the Queen more likely to decide on severe punishment.

Mugetsu shuddered and lightly traced a hand down his mask. He had already acquired nine stripes. One more stripe and the mask would already be halfway covered. Mugetsu knew the rules. Once he got to twenty, he would die. He couldn't imagine how slow and painful it would be. Over the years, he had found that each new stripe was more painful and lasted longer than the previous. He had earned the first four quickly. He had been a clumsy, crybaby child. After the fourth stripe, he did everything he could to please the Queen and Prince no matter how much he hated it.

As painful as it would be, Mugetsu was more afraid of what would happen after he died. Mugetsu shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of such things. He scrubbed harder at the floor he had been cleaning. There were scuffs all over the ballroom floor from where the guests had danced their hearts out and spills from the disgusting pigs that had no manners whilst eating. Mugetsu hated special occasions for this reason. He was always expected to clean up after.

Mugetsu wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He had been at this for the past three hours and doing his best to be sure that the floor shined when he was done scrubbing it. The Queen would not accept anything less. It was especially difficult when servants trotted through the area he had cleaned knowing that he could do nothing but reclean the entire area. They enjoyed his suffering. Of course, he was beneath them. It was an unspoken truth. Mugetsu was more like a slave than an actual servant, and the other workers took advantage of that.

His arms and back ached as he added pressure to a particularly nasty stain. He was so close to being finished. He really wanted to finish before more servants arrived. Mugetsu twitched as he felt a tingle on the back of his neck. He turned around quickly. His ponytail whipping around at the speed. His eyes widened at the sight of the prince leaning against the large doors.

"Y-your highness!" Mugetsu stumbled to his feet, bowing deeply. Just how long had he been standing there? He had been so immersed in his work, he hadn't noticed the Prince. He really hoped he wasn't going to be punished for ignoring him.

Shiro was eyeing him with a blank look on his face. Mugetsu could feel a drop of sweat slide down his forehead. There was a long pause, and Mugetsu felt his nerves were on fire with nervousness. He didn't understand why Shiro wasn't doing anything. Mugetsu risked looking at the Prince through his bangs.

Shiro huffed and stalked off.

"Eh?" Mugetsu exclaimed and lifted his head in surprise. That was really odd. He furrowed his brows, but went back to cleaning. He finished scrubbing the floor of the ballroom, but could not stop thinking about Shiro's weird behavior. It was the first time he had seen Shiro act like that towards him in the past ten years.

The sound of footsteps had Mugetsu turn towards the door once more, expecting Shiro to have returned.

"You are really popular with the Queen this week, Mugetsu." Mugetsu cringed when he saw the Queen's attendant before him. "Her Highness has a job for you."

xXx(BAM! Line break!)xXx

"Your Majesty?" Mugetsu was not sure he had heard her correctly.

"Are you deaf, scum? You would be wise to open your ears and follow my orders without question." The Queen sneered from her throne. She tossed the sack that was next to her throne to his feet. "I don't feel like seeing your hideous face today. You are to go hunting with Kenpachi. Give him that sack when you meet him at the back of the castle. Make sure you return before nightfall, understood?"

Mugetsu just stared for a moment. He had not been outside of the castle walls for ten years. The Queen had made sure that he was close by in case the Prince or she wished to use him. And now, she was telling him that he had no choice but to leave for an entire day. What on earth was going on? However, Mugetsu couldn't help the slight fluttering inside his chest at going outside the walls. The closest thing to freedom he has ever had.

A sharp pain to his temple had Mugetsu on the floor. Through the pain, Mugetsu saw a guard hovering over him.

"Take him outside. This insect's disrespect is ruining my mood." The Queen waved Mugetsu off. She stood from her throne and turned to the door of her private chambers leaving Mugetsu alone with the guards posted at the doors.

One of the guards immediately grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out the door and led him to meet Kenpachi. Mugetsu was barely able to get to his feet as he was roughly dragged part of the way through the winding halls towards the back of the castle. Mugetsu stumbled and was still reeling from the strange order he was given. He was not sure what was going on today, but he would be sure to make the most of this unheard of opportunity.

Arriving outside, Mugetsu squinted in the harsh morning light. He blinked a few times to help adjust his eyes. Standing in front of a cart was a very tall, muscular man. This man had to have been in a multitude of battles as his body was riddled in scars and an eyepatch over his right eye. His black hair was oddly spiked with little bells that jingled softly every time he moved his head.

"I leave him in your care." The guard stated, tossing Mugetsu at the large man. Strong, large hands grabbed Mugetsu's shoulders, stopping his fall.

"Oi, get offa me, kid." The man Mugetsu guessed was Kenpachi shoved the smaller man off of him. "So, you're the brat that I have to drag with me. Listen up. Do not slow me down. Now, get in the stupid carriage."

Mugetsu blinked in surprise of his rudeness, but quickly complied. The carriage was not something one would expect from a royal castle. It honestly looked more like a wagon drawn by a single horse. Not that Mugetsu minded. He had not been in a carriage since he was a young boy.

"Ooomph!" A cloth was tossed onto Mugetsu's face with enough force behind it to knock Mugetsu against the side of the carriage.

"Put that on." Kenpachi said while climbing into the driver's seat. "We are taking the backway through town, but I don't want a ruckus when we travel through the village. That mask of yours is gonna cause a lot of screaming. Keep the hood down low."

Mugetsu took the hooded cloak and draped it over his shoulders making sure that the hood was low. Kenpachi leaned back to see how well the cloth did the job but clicked his tongue when it did little to hide the frightening, sharpened teeth. He gave Mugetsu a mad grin.

"What a pain in the ass. You oughta get me one. Heh heh." Kenpachi laughed maniacally before throwing a scarf-like cloth at Mugetsu. "Cover your face. Unfortunately, her royal bitchiness doesn't want a riot or something." Kenpachi huffed and turned around, ordering the horses to begin moving.

The ride seemed quick to Mugetsu. There was so much to take in. He tried to take in everything at once. The smells were completely different from the mustiness of the castle. There was a constant flow of fresh air mixed with a variety of smells. The sun was intense outside of the walls. Mugetsu wasn't sure of the cause. Possibly the fact that the houses were smaller than the walls surrounding the castle or perhaps just the idea that he was no longer under the Queen's and her close servants' watchful gazes. It was liberating. He watched as the people interacted with one another. He kept his head down to avoid any wandering gazes, but he was fascinated with the different atmosphere.

Mugetsu was disappointed yet thrilled when they reached the edge of the forest. He had wanted to linger in the village a bit longer, but he was also excited to explore the forest. At least, as much as he would be allowed. He wasn't under the illusion that he could do as he pleased. Kenpachi was there to watch his every move. It was obvious that Kenpachi was an experienced fighter, and Mugetsu did not want to test his luck. Kenpachi stopped the carriage and got off to tie the horse to a tree so that it would not run off before they returned from the hunt.

"Hurry up. We need to begin now if we hope to catch anything. We will need to go deeper into the forest." Kenpachi headed into the forest without waiting. Mugetsu had to jog to keep up with Kenpachi's long strides and fast pace.

The forest was cooler than the village. The tall trees blocked out most of the sun's rays. They walked for a long while in silence. While they walked, Mugetsu was able to fully take in the wonders of the forest. Strange sounds came from all around the forest. He occasionally caught a glimpse of small animals such as birds and squirrels. He assumed that Kenpachi was after much larger prey though. Mugetsu couldn't even imagine the Queen being served a meal of roasted squirrel. He had to hold in a snicker that bubbled up. Being so far from the castle was refreshing. Kenpachi waved a hand at Mugetsu, motioning him to stop. Apparently, Kenpachi noticed something that Mugetsu didn't.

"Go around and try to scare the deer towards me. I will take it down as it goes by." Kenpachi whispered into Mugetsu's ear. A tremble went through Mugetsu at the tone of his voice. There was a hidden malice behind his words. Mugetsu did not like it. But, he nodded and cautiously began to circle around. He was careful not to step on twigs or dead leaves that would alert the animal to his presence. He was glad that he was trained to fight and how to hide his presence. He never imagined that he would use these skills while hunting. His instincts were on high alert. It was strange though. He couldn't sense any large animals nearby.

A crunching sound behind him had him turning around quickly just in time to avoid a death blow to his neck. A sword tore through his scarf cloth. Mugetsu fell onto his bottom from the momentum. He stared with wide eyes at the huge figure that was Kenpachi.

"Well, well. I never would have imagined you to have such sharp instincts." Kenpachi laughed while drawing his sword back once more. Mugetsu jumped to his feet and readied his body into a fighting stance. He knew he didn't have much of a chance without a weapon, but that did not mean he would just lie down and die. "Come on, kid. Entertain me." With those words, Kenpachi lunged. Mugetsu was barely able to dodge, but managed to knock Kenpachi's sword hand aside causing his sword to cut through a tree. Mugetsu did not give himself time to fear being hit. He instead went on the offensive, hoping to catch Kenpachi off guard. Mugetsu aimed a strong roundhouse kick at the back of Kenpachi's head in hopes of knocking him out. The blow hit and Mugetsu immediately went for another kick to the ribs. He gasped when his foot was grabbed instead.

"So you're a strong fighter." Mugetsu shivered at the pure, horrid joy on Kenpachi's face. "I had originally thought that the Queen had sent me to kill a weakling. I hate killing weaklings. They are so boring." Kenpachi eyed Mugetsu. "But, you... I am looking forward to this."

Kenpachi swung his sword with an unheard of speed. Mugetsu managed to move his head away from the sword enough to only get a cut on his cheek. He ignored the burn in favor of a backwards handspring to put some distance between himself and the madman. Kenpachi, however, was much quicker than he looked and was on him immediately. Mugetsu gritted his teeth as the sword ran through his shoulder. The pain was immense. But, he had endured worse at the hands of the Queen. With a roar, he grabbed onto the sword and managed to yank it out of Kenpachi's hands. Kenpachi had a surprised look on his face which was quickly replaced by laughter. Mugetsu ripped the sword from his shoulder and turned the sword on Kenpachi. Mugetsu lunged. Kenpachi was ready and brought out a hidden knife used for hunting to par with Mugetsu's borrowed sword. Mugetsu used his smaller size to his advantage and ducked under Kenpachi's knife and brought the sword up, slashing Kenpachi's chest. Kenpachi brought the knife down on Mugetsu as he moved to get away from Kenpachi's mass. Mugetsu cried out as the knife embedded itself into his leg. He stumbled to the ground, panting, and screamed when Kenpachi jerked the knife back out of his leg.

"Not bad, brat. You actually managed to injure me." Kenpachi motioned towards his profusely bleeding chest. Mugetsu grunted as he tried to turn around. He was bleeding from his deep wounds so much that he was already dizzy. Kenpachi stalked over towards him and grabbed his sword, pointing it to Mugetsu's neck. Mugetsu glared at Kenpachi and Kenpachi couldn't help but chuckle. Kenpachi shoved the sword down into what was left of Mugetsu's cloak. "It would be a shame to kill a kid so skilled. I want to fight you again with swords. So, I will let you live. Leave and become stronger for our next encounter." Mugetsu staggered to his feet and shivered at the thought of another battle. He began to shuffle as fast as he could away from Kenpachi before he changed his mind.

"Mugetsu." Mugetsu shuddered and paused for a moment in fear. "This is your warning. The Queen will eventually find out that I didn't kill you, and once that happens, more will be sent for your head." Mugetsu nodded slightly and stumbled away. He had no idea where he would go, but the castle was no longer an option.

xXx(Phew…..Here's a Line Break)xXx

After stumbling through the forest for what seemed to be a couple hours, Mugetsu eventually lost consciousness due to blood loss. When he came to, he felt horrible and nauseous. Mugetsu raised his hand to his head. He didn't have time. He needed to get as far away from the castle as possible. Mugetsu didn't know how long he was out. Fear jolted through his spine and he sat up quickly. Kenpachi's words rang in his ears. The Queen had hired Kenpachi to _kill_ Mugetsu. Mugetsu didn't really understand why the Queen would change her mind. It terrified him. What else was the Queen planning? What would happen to Shiro?

A loud snapping of twigs had Mugetsu on his feet in a fighting stance. He needed to stay alive. That was the whole point of working for the Queen all these years. Mugetsu readied himself. He was surprised that he was already found out. It hadn't even been a full day yet.

A deer poked its head out from behind some bushes. Mugetsu and the deer stared at each other in surprise for a moment before Mugetsu burst into relieved laughter, scaring the deer away. Just as soon as the laughter started, it stopped. Mugetsu couldn't afford to really be caught off guard. He needed to keep moving. Mugetsu grabbed what remained of the hooded cloak and tore it into strips, carefully tying the strips around his wounds in makeshift bandages. As soon as he finished, Mugetsu headed towards the sound of a stream and followed it upstream. He kept close to the trees where the land was dry, and he would not make footprints. He stopped and hid whenever he grew too nervous, which happened to be quite often because of his inexperience outside the castle walls.

The sun was beginning to set as Mugetsu decided to veer away from the stream a bit. He didn't want to encounter any thirsty bears or other predators in the dark. He wasn't sure how much further he could keep this up. He was utterly exhausted. After stumbling along for a while, he saw an old looking house. He quickly hid behind a tree in fear of people inhabiting the place. His mind raced as he thought of many different scenarios. It was risky to be so close to people. Mugetsu didn't know if the Queen had already found out that he was alive or not and had hired more people to hunt him down.

Mugetsu risked another look at the house. Upon closer inspection, the house was really run down. There was a high possibility that no one even lived there anymore, and it was getting dark. He didn't really want to risk sleeping outside. He didn't know the first thing about camping.

Biting his lip, he approached the door. Seeing it slightly ajar, he pushed it open slightly.

"Hello?" Mugetsu called out, ready to bolt if anyone answered. When nothing happened, Mugetsu huffed and went inside. He carefully explored the house to be sure no one was there. There was no sign that anyone had been there recently. The house was furnished and in much better condition inside. Mugetsu believed that someone must have crashed here for a while, but abandoned the place soon after based on the broken items strewn throughout the house. Even if someone was living in the place still, Mugetsu reasoned that he was a light sleeper and chose a bedroom with a window in order for a quick escape.

He was so tired. He didn't think he could make it to a better place to rest. Mugetsu collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

xXx(What? A Line Break? ALREADY? Yes.)xXx

"Bwahahaha~! You call that a catch?" Nnoitra laughed pointing at Grimmjow's pack. "Oh man, you have lost your touch, Grimmy."

"Please. Like you have any room to talk, you stupid bug. My meat is already skinned and cut up because _you_ took so long. I bet I caught twice as much as you did." Grimmjow growled, barring his teeth at the tall man. He did not like being mocked. Especially when it was obvious that some of the bulkier parts of the animals were missing. "You probably have barely enough meat to feed a dog."

"What was that, you stupid grumpy cat?"

"You heard me, you dopey looking twig!" Both men dropped their packs and got into a fighting stance.

"Honestly, you both took too long to catch such measly prey. If you were more proficient, we all could have met back up sooner with enough prey to last us more than a week." Ulquiorra stated monotonously, walking straight past the feuding pair.

"Shut up, emo!" Nnoitra and Grimmjow barked in unison, only to glare at each other.

"I feel quite envious of Stark and Harribel. This constant arguing is childish." Szayel pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. "At least they won't have to be around the two of you for another couple of days."

"Oh yeah, like _your_ someone we want to be around." Nnoitra rolled his eyes and grabbed his pack. "Who was the one who needed an hour every morning to get ready? We were in the _woods_. Who needs to look perfect with no one around?" Nnoitra spat in disgust. Szayel gave Nnoitra a dirty look but said nothing.

"Guys." Neliel whispered. The men immediately became alert. Nel motioned towards the abandoned house they had been crashing in for a couple months. The door was ajar much farther than they usually left it. Everyone became tense knowing someone had been in their house and could still be in the house.

"Divide and conquer." Grimmjow hissed lowly. The other four nodded. They immediately snuck into the house and separated to find the intruder if they were still there. The house was not extremely large, but it was best in this situation to split up and search every corner. They couldn't afford to make a mistake. Nnoitra took the basement, Neliel went to search through the kitchen, Ulquiorra went outside to check around the house, Szayel took the living room and dining room, and Grimmjow took the bathrooms and bedrooms.

Grimmjow checked the closest bathrooms and bedrooms first. He checked under the beds, in the closets, and behind shower curtains. When there were only two rooms left, he began to feel relief. It didn't look like anything was amiss. All of the carefully placed items that were made to look like the house had been left in a rush were still in the same place. Any intruder was bound to have touched something by accident. Grimmjow pushed the last bedroom door open.

Grimmjow tensed immediately as he noticed the bed was not empty. He slowly crept towards the figure like a cat stalking its prey. Grimmjow took note that the figure's long black hair covered his face. Grimmjow only knew that the person was asleep by the slow deep movements of the chest. Grimmjow checked and saw that the person was unarmed. Knowing there was less danger with the person unarmed, Grimmjow grabbed the man's arm.

"Oi! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Mugetsu jolted awake and instinctually punched whoever had grabbed him with his free hand. The blue haired man's head snapped to the side, but quickly went for Mugetsu's free arm. Mugetsu struggled against the stranger with fear motivating his limbs. He was not in a good position to fight. He was wounded and the larger man had the upperhand as he stood over Mugetsu. Eventually, the blue haired man pinned Mugetsu to the bed. Both of them panted from the short struggle.

"Who are you?!" The blue haired man demanded. Mugetsu turned his head to the side in silent refusal. Grimmjow took that moment to take in the horrible mask on the intruder's face. It looked like a strange skull with thick red stripes going across the left side of the mask. Grimmjow was about to question him more when the mask's design began to change.

The masked man's eyes widened. The mask's and the man's bottom jaw opened and a scream that was distorted roared out. Grimmjow was almost thrown off the man as he writhed in pain, screaming in agony. Grimmjow jumped off the man, completely startled. He knew for a fact that he was not the cause of this pain. Grimmjow watched frozen and horrified as the man's now free hands began to claw at his own mask. Stomping was heard as the others came rushing to the room after hearing such a bone chilling sound. Nel and Nnoitra stopped at the door staring in shock. Szayel had paused as well, but, as a doctor, rushed in to see what was causing such pain.

"What did you do, Grimmjow?!" Szayel yelled over the distorted screaming. He quickly motioned Ulquiorra closer to help hold down the flailing man's limbs.

"I didn't do anything! He attacked me and I barely had him pinned when he started screaming." Grimmjow's face looked panicked. "It's gotta have something to do with that mask. He only started screaming when it started changing."

"Help me restrain him!" Grimmjow took over holding down the arms while Ulquiorra kept a strong hold of his legs. Szayel touched the man's neck to find he was burning up. He couldn't imagine what kind of pain the man was in to have developed a strong fever so quickly. "I need water and towels, now."

Nel and Nnoitra hurried off to the closest bathroom and then outside. They both returned with as quickly as they could with a couple soaked towels. Szayel took them gratefully and removed the man's shirt as best he could as well as his shoes. He then applied the cool towels to his feet, arms, and legs. The distorted screaming had stopped in favor of silent screaming. In a way, it seemed worse.

"Help him!" Grimmjow shouted at Szayel, still struggling to keep the man's arms from moving.

"I can't. It isn't his physical wounds that are causing this. It's magic." Szayel was at a loss. All he could do was treat the physical wounds he noticed on the man's leg and shoulder and tend to the fever. Magic was beyond his capabilities, especially since the magic was so strong. At this point, Szayel was not even sure the man would survive the pain.

After what seemed like hours, the masked man finally stopped, seemingly unconscious, and only twitching occasionally from residue pain. Grimmjow hesitantly released his hold of his arms and looked at the new additional stripe on the mask. Szayel checked the man over.

"He will need to rest, but it seems he will survive. Now that he isn't moving so much, I will have to treat and redress his wounds before an infection sets in." Szayel shooed them out of the room. Grimmjow nodded, but Nnoitra roughly grabbed Grimmjow's arm and nearly dragged him out of the room. Nel and Ulquiorra quietly followed them to the living room where Nnoitra let go of Grimmjow and turned on him.

"He can't stay here. Either he needs to go or we do. It's too dangerous for us if he sees our faces." Nnoitra said with a solemn look on his face. He placed a hand on Grimmjow's shoulder and looked carefully into his eyes. "I know how you get, but we can't afford to be careless now."

"We can't just leave a defenseless person alone." Grimmjow shrugged off Nnoitra's hand.

"By the looks of that bruise forming on your face, I would say he is not completely defenseless, Grimmjow." Nnoitra snarled, pointing out the place where the man had punched Grimmjow's cheek.

"That was before the screaming, Nnoitra. I highly doubt he is going to be able to do that again after what we saw. He is completely exhausted." Grimmjow stated calmly.

"Grimmjow is right, Nnoi." Nel softly said, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Besides, it is ultimately Grimmjow's decision. After all, he was the one who got hit and seen." Ulquiorra nodded in agreement when Nnoitra looked at him. Nnoitra flung his long arms in the air in defeat.

"You all are crazy bastards! Don't come crying to me when this all goes south." Nnoitra pointed at Grimmjow. "And you can be the one to explain all this to Stark and Harribel." Nnoitra stormed off to get the packs they had left outside.

"He'll come around." Neliel encouraged, giving Grimmjow a smile. "Ulqui, come help me with dinner." The two walked off leaving Grimmjow in favor of the kitchen.

Grimmjow watched them leave. He didn't disagree completely with Nnoitra, but he also had questions he wanted answers to from that strange intruder. What could one weak man do to put them in danger, anyway?

xXx(Last Line Break of the Chapter)xXx

Once Szayel was informed of the plan to let the stranger stay a while to recover, Szayel left Grimmjow alone with the masked man with an unhappy look on his face. Grimmjow knew why Szayel and Nnoitra were against this, but it was against his better judgement to leave the stranger like this. Grimmjow took this time to better inspect the stranger. He was rather thin with a swimmer's build and couldn't be older than he was. He was tall, but shorter than Grimmjow. Under a closer inspection, the man's skin was riddled with scars and bruises. Some were older than others. Grimmjow could only guess as to how he got them. Some of the scars seemed to have been carefully placed on his skin, so he couldn't have gotten them from battle. This stranger was a mystery to him.

Mugetsu slowly regained consciousness and blinked his eyes slowly. His senses started to come back to him as he remembered what had happened before he passed out. His body instinctually curled up on itself from the aching that lingered, but jumped when he heard shifting. He regretted swinging his head around to see the blue haired man sitting by the bed he was in. His vision swam for a moment. The blue haired man seemed to notice Mugetsu was awake.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?" The man immediately started to repeat his questions from earlier. Mugetsu remained silent with a defiant look in his eyes. The man clicked his tongue. "You should think of it as repayment for treating your wounds and keeping you from mauling yourself while you were screaming in pain even though you attacked me." Mugetsu gritted his teeth, but begrudgingly talked.

"I can't tell you" The warped voice startled Grimmjow. He hadn't expected such a strange sound to come from the masked man. Of course, he didn't really know what he had expected. Grimmjow pondered for a moment.

"Hnnn…Let's start off with something easy then. What kingdom are you from?" The man remained quiet which served to piss Grimmjow off. "You know I could have some soldiers brought in from the nearest village. I am sure they would love to know why you broke into my home." Grimmjow bluffed. In reality, he wouldn't risk soldiers questioning Grimmjow as well. It seemed to work though as the man glared, but answered bitterly.

"Karakura Kingdom." Grimmjow nodded expecting that answer. He figured he would start out easy to relax the strange masked man.

"Do you live in the forest?" Grimmjow asked. It was a simple enough question since the man had intruded on his home.

"No."

"Are you alone?" Grimmjow had wanted to ask this question immediately. He was pretty good at reading people and the answer to this question determined how safe he and his friends were.

"Yes." The man's answers were quite clipped but honest. Grimmjow took a mental sigh of relief.

"Are you a traveler?" The man started to answer, but stopped. His eyes seemed to widen as he realized something. He seemed to struggle with himself before answering.

"I guess." Grimmjow tilted his head. This must have been a recent occurrence.

"How old are you?" The man hesitated on this question.

"18."

"When was your birthday?" Grimmjow hadn't expected the man to be so young. The mask really threw off Grimmjow's guess, but the answer to this question really threw him.

"Yesterday." Grimmjow blinked in surprise.

"Oh, well, happy late birthday, I guess." Both Grimmjow and the man seemed to become uncomfortable. Grimmjow decided to move away from that topic to a more pressing one. "Why did you break into my house?" The man's head snapped towards Grimmjow and glared.

"I didn't know it belonged to anyone. I thought it was abandoned. I just needed somewhere to sleep." The man growled bitterly.

"Where did you get those wounds?" Grimmjow eyed the man's shoulder and leg pointedly. The man grabbed his wounded shoulder and looked away. It was clear he wasn't going to answer. Grimmjow moved onto another question. "Do you have family?"

The masked man still refused to answer. Grimmjow growled in frustration.

"Fine. What about your name?"

Mugetsu blinked in surprise. He wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't tell the blue haired man his name was Mugetsu. After all, sooner or later rumors would probably start and the Queen would put a price on his name. With these fears and thoughts swirling in his head, without thinking, he said the one other name he had.

"Ichigo." His eyes widened as the word slipped from his lips. It was strange yet familiar.

"Ichigo, huh?" The man named Ichigo stared at the blue haired man. Ichigo hadn't heard his own name in nearly a decade. He could only hope that the name wouldn't expose his true identity to the strange blue haired man.

"Well, Ichigo, my name is Grimmjow." The man named Grimmjow smiled. "Are you hungry? My friends are cooking up food as we speak."

"Why?" Ichigo asked watching Grimmjow stand up and crack his back from sitting so long in the chair by his bed. Grimmjow tilted his head to the side in question. "Why are you helping me? Why aren't you kicking me out or something?"

Grimmjow scoffed. "Obviously because you aren't a threat." Ichigo glared, but Grimmjow just laughed and left Ichigo to grab some food.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Welp. That took waaay longer than expected. 11 pages. Sheesh. I hope you enjoyed it. :D

Please feel free to leave comments or questions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning for the entire story** : I apologize in advance….Bad language, Abuse, Violence, Blood, Pain, Male x Male, Ooc-ness

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **This first part is set right before and during Ichigo's added stripe part.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Kenpachi wasn't an idiot. Yes, he was strong and enjoyed fighting and killing more than cracking open a book, but one didn't need to be a bookworm to know that lying to the Queen was risky. Kenpachi couldn't help but smirk when he thought of that masked boy he had been ordered to kill. It had been so long since Kenpachi had met anyone who could put up a decent fight against him, and he wasn't about to lose that person because of some bitchy Queen who didn't want to see her ugly servant anymore. So, Kenpachi let him go, and carved out the heart of a pig for proof of his 'kill'. He doubted the Queen would notice the difference with her head being so far up her own ass. He really hated this country's royalty nowadays. They were strong, spoiled, and constantly looking down their nose. If Kenpachi wasn't under orders from his own country, the Seireitei, he would have already killed both the Queen and that bratty Prince. Kenpachi huffed and mockingly bowed before the Queen with his gift.

"Yer highness, here is the heart of your servant, all gift wrapped and everything." The Queen purposefully ignored Kenpachi in favor of taking the box with her prize.

"Take your money and leave my country." The Queen snarked. Kenpachi growled at the rude dismissal, but grabbed his sack of money and stalked out of the room.

The Queen watched as he left the room, and, as soon as he disappeared, she all but raced out of the room towards her private chambers. She was giddy with excitement. The nuisance was dead and she was no longer worried about it. Kenpachi was the perfect job for this. He had no idea what Ichigo had looked like as the prince, and was able to bury the body without alerting anyone to the Queen's betrayal. She was finally free of that pathetic weakling. She walked gracefully towards the magic mirror. _He_ would be very happy to see the deed was done quietly.

"Magic Mirror on the wall. Show me who rules over all." The Queen shouted triumphantly. The mirror shimmered and the reflection changed to the man she all but served. "I have done it!" she declared. "The prince who has haunted us has been killed."

"Oh?" The man questioned. "Is that so?"

Her grin was wiped away, however, as a paranoid thought made its way into her mind. What if Kenpachi made a mistake? What if Ichigo was still alive? The Queen shook her head. There was only one way to be sure. The Queen opened the box to confirm there was a heart inside and then waved her hand towards the wall beside the mirror. Her magic opened a secret door hidden in the wall.

The man raised his eyebrow as he watched the Queen through the mirror. Luckily, since he had been summoned, he could walk to the second magic mirror which was stored in the secret room. He silently seemed to disappear from the mirror in the Queen's chamber to the one in the room.

The Queen marched over to a cauldron where a long black sword hovered over it. The Queen screamed her rage at the sight of the perfectly fine sword. If Ichigo had truly been killed the sword that represented Ichigo would have reflected its master's broken condition. The Queen looked at the heart in her hands in disgust. This was not Ichigo's heart. Kenpachi was foolish enough to try to trick her. Her anger raged inside her as she threw the heart against the wall. She glared as smashing the heart did nothing to calm her rage. The Queen immediately turned onto the sword. Someone was going to suffer for this, damn it!

The Queen grabbed a decorated knife from her multitude of shelves and made a quick cut across her palm. Her blood leaked from between her fingers as she smashed her cut palm against the hovering sword. Nothing happened for a heartbeat. Her blood dripped down the length of the blade before the blade seemed to turn a glowing red from the blood's touch. The sword seemed to scream in response to the glowing. An evil smile crawled up the Queen's face as she saw her spell taking place. This time, she would not stop at just one stripe added to Ichigo's mask. Oh no. She was going to add all eleven that were left. She would finish the job Kenpachi was supposed to have been done. The Queen laughed madly as the sword's screams grew louder.

A loud cough interrupted the Queen's psychotic break, and she scowled at the man in the mirror. The man, who had been watching silently up until this point, gave a disapproving stare. "What are you doing, may I ask?"

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Killing the boy like we agreed."

"Now, I do believe we said _Kenpachi_ would kill him." The Queen opened her mouth to protest, but the man quickly put up a finger, telling her to wait. "Do you know where the boy is?"

"No." The Queen grumbled.

"So, how would you know it's safe to kill the boy now without revealing his true identity?" The Queen glared at the ground. "You know as well as I that as soon as the prince's heart stops beating the spell will break, and the prince's identity will be revealed. Do you want to lose your kingdom?" The man reasoned. The Queen shook her head and released the sword. The sword trembled slightly before becoming still once more.

"But we can't just let him live." The Queen protested. "What if he told someone the truth?"

"Ah. But I didn't say we wouldn't kill him. We just need to be smart about how we do it, and use his remaining stripes wisely." The man in the mirror stated. The Queen nodded, seemingly satisfied. She declared that she was tired and left to bathe and retire for the night. As the Queen left the man alone, his calm smile turned into a displeased scowl.

xXx

It had taken a few days for Ichigo to get back on his feet. Though, the entire time he had been hiding in the room he had been given. He kept feeling angry tension when he left the room, and, since it seemed there was always someone outside the room, he figured he would wait until his wounds healed more before trying to escape. However, as he spent each day in the room, Grimmjow continued to visit, often with food. They didn't talk much. Just some idle chatter about the country here and there. From what Ichigo could gather, Grimmjow and his friends were from another country. During the long stretch of the day, Ichigo found himself looking forward to Grimmjow's visits.

Ichigo stretched on the bed and relaxed, staring at the ceiling. Ichigo had not been able to feel this content in years. It was strange that he was more at home here than in his actual home. The only time he had been comfortable in the castle was before the 'incident' that changed everything. Ichigo shuddered at the thought. That night had been the start of a nightmare it seemed he would never wake up from. He reached his hand up to feel the smooth surface of his mask.

A rhythmic tapping at the door jolted Ichigo as he swung his head towards the door. The woman called Neliel with long blueish green hair poked her head through the door.

"Hello, Itsygo!" Nel grinned. Neliel was another person who visited Ichigo once in a while. Ichigo had given up trying to fix her pronunciation of his name after a two hour session with her. "I came to check up on you." Nel bounced into the room and nearly ripped Ichigo's shirt off of him.

"N-Nel! Oi!" Ichigo blushed trying to resist Nel's grabby hands. A brief struggle ensued which concluded with his shirt being ripped to the shoulder where his wound was. Ichigo swore that if anyone ever asked he _let_ her win. Nel inspected the wound on his shoulder, gently running a finger over the angry red scar.

"Wow, Itsygo." Nel breathed. "It's already healed." Ichigo fidgeted under her gaze. "Is your let the same?"

At his nod, her mouth dropped a bit and her eyes widened. "How?" She asked. Ichigo shrugged, but Nel's eyes lingered on his mask before drifting to his hair. "Oh my! Your hair. Poor Itsygo, you haven't been able to clean yourself in days. How about this, you go wash up by the river and I will brush your hair when you come back."

Ichigo glanced at some of his dark hair that spilled over his shoulder and grimaced. He truly needed a wash. Ichigo eyed Nel for a moment. She gave him a soft smile in return.

"Just promise to come back. I would like to get to know you better. You're not a prisoner. You can leave right after I help you with your hair if you want." Nel pleaded. "Grimmjow and Szayel are out patrolling, and Nnoitra and Ulquiorra are no fun to talk to." Nel made the best puppy dog eyes she could muster, and Ichigo, being as softhearted as he was, struggled for a moment before giving in.

"I promise to come back."

xXx

Grimmjow grimaced as Szayel continued to chatter about things Grimmjow could personally care less about. Patrolling in general sucked, but patrolling with Szayel was agonizing. Grimmjow didn't even need to participate in the conversation. He just wanted nothing more than to go back and check in with Ichigo. He could honestly say he liked the strange man. He was kind of quiet, but when he talked it was always interesting. Grimmjow had found out bits and pieces about this country's culture. It was remarkable how different yet similar this country was in comparison to his own birthplace.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes and looked through the trees as Szayel talked about the new plant species he found that could help with blemishes on the skin. The river was coming up on their left. Grimmjow squinted as he thought he saw something in the river. He quickly motioned for Szayel to shut his trap and crouched. He motioned for Szayel to follow. They crept carefully to avoid stepping on sticks or anything that would alert the person to their location. When they got close enough, Grimmjow gently pulled a few branches from the bush they were behind to the side for a better view.

Grimmjow's mouth popped open and cheeks reddened slightly at the sight of a naked Ichigo. Szayel covered his smile as he watched Grimmjow's reaction. Grimmjow's eyes unintentionally traveled down Ichigo's body. Ichigo had a thin, but strong body with legs for days and amazing abs. He was so busy staring at the hot body in front of him, he didn't notice Szayel leaving to continue the patrol.

When Ichigo turned his back to him, Grimmjow's problem in his pants went away slightly. There were so many scars riddling Ichigo's back that you couldn't tell where one ended and another began. Grimmjow could see that some of the scars were newer than others. The scars led Grimmjow to believe that Ichigo must be a runaway slave. It seemed reasonable. Ichigo was in hiding, had a multitude of scars, refused to talk about his home life, and trembled around anyone angry. He supposed that there could be other reasons, but he wouldn't find out the real answer until Ichigo trusted him enough to tell him.

Grimmjow took another look at Ichigo's exposed, muscular body and smirked. Yeah…He wouldn't mind getting close to that.

xXx

When Ichigo returned from his wash, which took way longer than he had anticipated, Nel quickly rushed him over to the worn out looking couch in the living room where she sat on the armrest and moved him to sit between her legs. Nel then proceeded to grab a section of his wet, knotted hair and begin gently brushing the knots away.

Almost as soon as Nel had finished the first small section, Grimmjow and Szayel returned and reported that all was fine. Szayel walked towards the bedrooms to wake Nnoitra and Ulquiorra for their patrol shift while Grimmjow plopped himself on the other end of the couch. He smirked at Ichigo and Nel.

"You braiding his hair as well, Nel?" Grimmjow teased, motioning towards them. He could tell the comment irked Ichigo as his shoulders tensed and eyes narrowed. Unfortunately, Nel noticed Ichigo's reaction as well and proceeded to toss one of her heeled shoes at Grimmjow's head. "Hey! I was just joking! No need to decapitate me, woman!"

"That was mean, Grimmy." Nel frowned. She leaned closer to Ichigo's ear and whispered, "Don't worry about him. He's an idiot."

"I can hear you, you know!" Grimmjow barked. Ichigo couldn't help but let a smile slip. For once, he was grateful for the mask hiding his features. What he didn't know was that Grimmjow was carefully observing his face.

Grimmjow made a mental note of how expressive Ichigo's eyes were. As Ichigo's mood shifted, Grimmjow could tell how he was feeling by watching his eyes. He truly found Ichigo fascinating. Grimmjow sunk further onto the couch and relaxed.

Grimmjow was just about to close his eyes when loud stomping sounds made their way past the living room. Nnoitra, who had been the one obnoxiously stomping, scowled at Ichigo before opening and slamming the front door behind him. Ulquiorra was quieter and bowed his head slightly towards Grimmjow, Neliel, and Ichigo. He then made a much quieter exit from the house. Grimmjow groaned at his friend's tantrum and the newfound tension in the room.

"I hate it when he is like this, the stupid dopey stick. Ignore him, Ichigo." Grimmjow grumbled as he settled back into the couch. Nel just hummed her agreement and continued her task. As more knots were brushed out of his hair, Ichigo became less tense and leaned more heavily against Nel. Ichigo couldn't help but reminisce a time when his own mother was alive. She would gently brush her slender fingers through his hair.

"It's fine. This isn't the first time I have been disliked." Ichigo stated. Grimmjow and Neliel threw each other a look.

"You know, I have been disliked before too. You see, I was taken in by Grimmjow's family. They were a really nice family, but they were really wealthy. So, many people disapproved of me being a part of the family. They were really stuck up old people. I don't know if it is the same in this country, but in our country, the elders have a big say. We are trying to change that though." Nel rambled. Ichigo appreciated her chatter though. It was nice to be talked to like an equal. "How about you? What is your family like?"

Ichigo hesitated for a moment before deciding to give a short version that left out any crucial details. He ignored Grimmjow's curious eyes. "Well, my mother died when I was young to an unknown disease. My father was grieving, but remarried because he thought my brother and I needed to have a mother figure in our lives. My brother and I are twins, but, when our father turned ill after he remarried, my brother grew distant."

"In our country, many people travel with masks or partial masks on their faces. I have not seen much of that in this country. So, why do you?" Grimmjow asked. Ichigo fidgeted in his seat.

"I-uhm…I was cursed." Ichigo muttered, looking away from Grimmjow.

"What was your father's job?" Nel asked quickly trying to find a lighter topic. Ichigo's hair was pretty and light without the knots.

"I guess you could say he worked for the people, I guess." Ichigo said with a thoughtful face.

"Like a soldier?" Grimmjow asked, perking up. At Ichigo's nod, Grimmjow asked, "Did he teach you any moves?"

Ichigo shrugged. "His men have." Ichigo said thinking of his stepmother's orders to have him trained night and day so that he could protect Shiro. Ichigo's eyes widened when Grimmjow nearly pounced on him. He grabbed Ichigo's arm and gently dragged Ichigo outside to the back.

"Good. Let's spar. There is a clearing in the trees in the back." Ichigo felt excitement rush through him. He frowned. He hated sparring with the Queen's soldiers. So why did he like the idea of sparring with him?

xXx

"Take it easy on him, Grimmy." Nel shouted as she ran to catch up. Ichigo nearly spluttered a protest. He wasn't weak! "Trust me, Itsygo. Grimmjow has been training with swords since he was barely walking." Nel informed, handing the sword Ichigo hadn't noticed was on her hip to him. Ichigo looked over to Grimmjow, who surely enough was unsheathing his own sword.

Grimmjow watched carefully as Ichigo got into position. He smirked at the basic stance Ichigo took, but felt oddly disappointed. "I sure hope you can put up a decent fight." Grimmjow froze as he watched Ichigo's eyes harden and convey an instant bloodlust at the taunt. Ichigo really did look like a monster. Grimmjow readied himself and attacked.

Grimmjow was pleasantly surprised at Ichigo's skills. Every strike Grimmjow dealt was met with a matching block and strike. In his own delight, Grimmjow put more effort into the fight. He hoped Nel wouldn't kill him for not going easy on Ichigo, but this was too much fun to let up now. He was so focused on the fight that he didn't notice Nnoitra, Szayel, and Ulquiorra arriving to watch.

After quite a few minutes of fighting, Grimmjow's nonexistent patience was thinning. Ichigo had been dodging or parrying more than he had even attempted to attack. Grimmjow was getting sick of it by the second.

"Ugh! Come on! Do you only know how to run away? This is pitiful." Grimmjow griped.

Ichigo staggered for a moment in surprise. All his life he had been told how pitiful he was by his stepmother and his own twin. What right did this stupidly buff man have to say that to him? Ichigo saw red. A roar erupted from Ichigo as he went on a blind rage. He only tolerated being looked down upon by his stepmother and brother in order to protect his family. He was _not_ going to tolerate it any more. Especially, not this man who knew _nothing_ about him.

Grimmjow was overwhelmed by Ichigo's ferocity. He could barely keep up. Each hit landed heavily on his sword and yet were so quick he could barely block it. He could hear Nnoitra and Szayel protest the aggression in a sparring session. In Grimmjow's haste, he slipped up and did not move his sword on time to block a hit to his chest. Grimmjow fell with a cry of pain.

Ichigo immediately was pale. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean t-" Ichigo started, but couldn't finish as Nnoitra came racing towards him, knocking the sword from his hands and pinning him. By the time he could register the fact that he had been pinned to the ground, a sword was at his throat.

"Wait! Nnoitra! I'm fine. It was my fault!" Grimmjow protested, trying to shove Szayel's hands off his wound.

"How do ya figure that?! He isn't the one bleeding." Nnoitra snarled, gesturing to the blood staining Grimmjow's shirt.

"I pushed him. I was supposed to be going easy on him for a light sparring session, but I ended up getting too into it. I attacked him full force. He was defending himself." Nnoitra growled at Ichigo, but took the sword away from his throat.

Grimmjow turned to Ichigo with a stupidly happy grin, "That was amazing, Ichigo." Ichigo didn't seem to fully register what Grimmjow had said as he eyed Nnoitra with fear.

Szayel sighed. "Yes. Yes. Amazing. Now, let's go inside and stop you from passing out and dying from blood loss, yes?" Szayel helped Grimmjow up, which was amazing considering the size difference. They both stumbled inside to dress Grimmjow's wounds.

When Grimmjow and Szayel were no longer in view, Nnoitra turned to Ichigo and got in his face. "Listen up. You are to stay away from Grimmjow from now on, you sick freak. I've seen your eyes follow him. You even look at him funny and I will snap every bone in your body, got it?" Nnoitra pushed Ichigo. "No one wants you here."

Nel shoved Nnoitra away from a trembling Ichigo. "Stop it! It was an accident."

"Sure didn't look that way to me. I saw pure bloodlust in his eyes. He was going in for the kill." Nnoitra growled, tossing Ichigo a dirty look. "I warned ya. I warned everyone. He needs to go."

Ichigo felt a stab in his chest. He couldn't disagree. Without thinking, Ichigo runs into the woods.

"Good riddance!" Nnoitra shouted after Ichigo. "And don't come back!"

Nel shouted, running after him. "Itsygo! Wait!" As soon as she reached the woods, she looked around. She couldn't see Ichigo so she turned to Nnoitra. "You asshole!"

Ulquiorra nodded his agreement. "That was clearly uncalled for. The blue buffoon asked for it."

xXx

Szayel finished tending to Grimmjow's wound. "Your lucky, Grimmjow. He pulled back at the last second and probably spared your life. This wound is small."

Grimmjow nodded, throwing his ruined shirt into a corner, much to Szayel's chagrin. "Szayel, I think I said something that triggered him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. Ichigo seemed fine until I said he was pitiful. Then, he kinda snapped." Grimmjow explained. Szayel contemplated what Grimmjow was saying.

"Well, he does seem to have a rough past judging by those scars. It really wouldn't surprise me." Szayel and Grimmjow remained quiet, going over all their interactions with Ichigo. "You know…." Szayel said slyly, "I can tell you like him."

"What?"

"You heard me. You're not deaf. You _like_ him." Szayel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Grimmjow seemed to slowly realize what Szayel was talking about and blushed.

Grimmjow immediately began to protest. "No! I do not! I have only known him for less than a week. There is no way that is possible."

Szayel hummed. "You are very kind, but even you wouldn't make a stranger food in bed every meal. You would usually have sent one of us to do it." Grimmjow spluttered even though he knew it to be true. Before he could put together an actual sentence though, Nel burst into the room clearly upset.

"Nnoitra scared Itsygo away." She all but sobbed. Grimmjow sat up, alarmed. "I tried to follow him, but he slipped away."

Grimmjow immediately got up and rushed out the door. Leaving Szayel to yell, "Hey! Be careful with your wound!"

xXx

Grimmjow searched through the forest for an entire hour before returning. He spotted Nnoitra leaned against the wall of the house and rushed towards him, pushing Nnoitra against it by the throat.

"What did you say to him?" Grimmjow growled.

"O-only the truth!" Nnoitra barely choked out due to the force against his throat. "He had no business staying here any longer. He is healed now, so he needed to leave."

"Listen up, you stupid bastard. I am the one who decides when Ichigo is no longer allowed to stay. If you used your head, you would have realized how much we need him." Grimmjow barked. Nnoitra looked at Grimmjow in shock and confusion. "We know next to nothing about this country. If we are trying to blend in, we need someone to teach us their customs. Now, here we found an actual citizen of the country, and you go and chase him away!"

"We can find someone else!" Nnoitra gasps as the hold on him gets tighter.

"You fucking moron, who is going to trust seven foreigners enough to hear what we have to say and give us information?" Nnoitra remained silent and Grimmjow released his hold. "So. Which way did he go?"

xXx

Ichigo was lost. Not that that was surprising considering how many times he had been outside the castle in his lifetime. He didn't even know how to survive in the woods. He almost regretted leaving Grimmjow's house. Almost. Ichigo still didn't fully understand why he nearly killed the man who had helped him get back on his feet. Especially over something so petty. Ichigo could only hope that he didn't hurt Grimmjow too badly.

Now, he didn't know what he was going to do. Ichigo was lost with nowhere to go. He had been traveling these woods for hours with no sign of a path or anything. He had nothing to hunt for food with either now that he thought about it.

Ichigo cringed when he realized that he would need to steal to get supplies since he didn't even have a single coin on him. He shook his head. First, he needed to get out of the woods. Ichigo looked around and made his own path through what might have used to be path. He could only hope it would lead to a place he could 'borrow' some supplies.

At the sound of hooves, Ichigo forgot himself and rushed towards the sound. He rushed through dense forest, and caught sight of a well-used path. Ichigo had just gotten past the tree line when he remembered that he was being hunted. He looked up the road to see a soldier filled wagon go by. They seemed distracted and missed him. Ichigo felt sweat drip as he backed up slowly. He was lucky that none of the soldiers had happened to look at him. Ichigo felt like an idiot for rushing like that and now he prayed that the soldiers would not look back.

He took careful steps back.

 _SNAP!_ The sound of a stick breaking under his foot seemed to echo through the woods. Ichigo heard the wagon stop, and then fast paced footsteps towards him. He ran for his life. These soldiers were hunting. Probably trying to find food, but Ichigo highly doubted they would let him go if they found out who he was. Even if they didn't know who he was, he was freaking running from them! That was suspicious in itself. But he couldn't risk it in case they did know him. He was fucking screwed.

Ichigo could hear them gaining on him. No. Not them…Their _dogs_. Shit.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the (extremely brief) fanservice moment as an apology for my long absence. (o/o) Sorry. Life got in the way QnQ**

 **Here is a challenge for you: This story is loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Can you guess which dwarf each of the espada are? (It is really loosely based, so I thought this could be a fun guessing challenge.)**

 **Comments and questions are appreciated XD**


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